# How to write a research question

A topic is not a question. Write who, what you compare, and what you will count.

A question fails when it is only a theme, such as effects of exercise. Name the people, the action, and the outcome. If you cannot name the outcome, you cannot screen.

## Steps

1. **Name the people.** Age, setting, or condition. One sentence.

2. **Name the action.** A treatment, a tool, or an exposure. Not a theme.

3. **Name the outcome.** What you will extract. If it is not measurable, drop it.

4. **Write the exclude rules.** Study types you will not read. Languages you will not read. Years, if you have a reason.

## ScholarIQ at this step

ScholarIQ takes that question as the search. It does not write the protocol. You still choose the criteria.

## How long does this take for one person?

Count the records first. A topic is not a question. Write who, what you compare, and what you will count. The time follows the count, not the size of a team.

## What do I write down before I stop?

The rule, the date, and the count. A question fails when it is only a theme, such as effects of exercise. Name the people, the action, and the outcome. If you cannot name the outcome, you cannot screen.

## Do I need a second reviewer?

Not to start. ScholarIQ does not score a second reviewer. If the protocol asks for dual review, a second person sees the same record.

## What is the usual error?

A file with no reason. A question fails when it is only a theme, such as effects of exercise. Name the people, the action, and the outcome. If you cannot name the outcome, you cannot screen.

## How do I know this step is done?

The count matches the records. If a flow-diagram box would not match, the step is not done.

## What goes in the methods?

The rule, the date, and the count. A reader must be able to open the same record.

## Can I skip this step?

No, if you will call the work a systematic review. If you skip it, write what you did. Do not hide the gap.

## What if I cannot finish?

Stop. Write how far you got. Records you did not screen are not exclusions.

## What does a supervisor check?

The rule, a sample of decisions, and the passage.

## What is outside this step?

A guideline panel, a CRO, and a GRADE meeting. ScholarIQ takes that question as the search. It does not write the protocol. You still choose the criteria.